Jalen Rose

Position	Shooting guard/Small forward
Nickname	J Rose
Height	ft  in ( m)
Weight	lb ( kg)
Team	Phoenix Suns
Nationality	USA
Born	January 30 1973 (1973--) (age 34) Detroit, Michigan
College	Michigan
Draft	13th overall, 1994 Denver Nuggets
Pro career	1994–present
Former teams	Denver Nuggets (1994–1996) Indiana Pacers (1996–2002) Chicago Bulls (2002–2004) Toronto Raptors (2003–2006) New York Knicks (2006)
Awards	All-Rookie (1995) Most Improved Player (2000)

Jalen Anthony Rose (born January 30 1973 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American professional basketball player in the NBA, currently with the Phoenix Suns. In college he was a member of the University of Michigan Wolverines' "Fab Five" (along with Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson) that reached the 1992 & 1993 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship games as both Freshmen and Sophomores.

College career

After graduating from Southwestern High School in Detroit, Rose attended the University of Michigan in which he participated in two losing appearances in NCAA Finals games in 1992 and 1993 as a part of Wolverines coach Steve Fisher's legendary 1991 recruiting class, dubbed the "Fab Five". He led the Fab Five in scoring his freshman year averaging 19 points per game and set the school freshman scoring record with 597 total points. Aside from being the most outspoken of the Fab Five, Rose was also their point guard and leader. During his career, he racked up 1500 points, 400 rebounds, and 100 assists.

NBA career

Rose has played for six different NBA teams, forging a solid pro career after skipping his senior season at Michigan. He was selected 13th overall by the Denver Nuggets in the 1994 NBA Draft. After two years with Denver, he was traded to the Indiana Pacers, along with Reggie Williams and a future first round draft pick, for Mark Jackson, Ricky Pierce, and a 1st round draft pick.

Perhaps Rose's greatest NBA moments thus far have occurred as a member of the Indiana Pacers, as he helped the team get back on its feet after a disastrous 1996-97 season and make it to three consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearances. As a member of the Pacers, Rose became the first player in eight years other than Reggie Miller to lead the team in scoring in the 1999-2000 season when he averaged 18.2 points per game for the eventual Eastern Conference Champions. He helped lead them to the Eastern Conference Championship in 2000 (though Indiana would ultimately lose the NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games). Rose averaged 23 points per game in the six game Finals series, including a 32 point effort in a game five win. During the 2001-02 season, Rose was traded to the Chicago Bulls along with Travis Best, Norman Richardson, and a future second round draft pick in exchange for Brad Miller, Ron Mercer, Ron Artest and Kevin Ollie.

After 16 games in the 2003-04 season, Rose was traded to the Toronto Raptors, along with power forwards Donyell Marshall and Lonny Baxter. On February 3, 2006, midway through the 2005-06 campaign, he was traded, along with a first-round draft pick, and an undisclosed sum of cash (believed to be around $3 million), to the New York Knicks for Antonio Davis, where he was reunited with Larry Brown, his coach for one year with the Indiana Pacers. The motivation behind this trade was apparently to free up cap space (Rose earned close to $18 million a year) as well as for the Raptors to acquire an experienced center who could relieve some of Chris Bosh's rebounding duties. Rose's final game and contribution for the Raptors was a home win against the Sacramento Kings, where he scored the winning basket in overtime.

Prior to the start of the 2006-07 NBA season on October 30, 2006, the Knicks cut ties with Rose by waiving him. He was courted by several teams including the Phoenix Suns, Detroit Pistons and Miami Heat. On November 3, 2006, Rose announced he would sign with the Suns on his blog at jalenrose.com. On November 7, it was officially announced that Rose had signed a $1.5 million one-year deal with Phoenix.^[1]

As a member of the Phoenix Suns, Rose did not play very many minutes. The fast-paced Suns offense was too fast for the aging swingman and his knees became a liability on defense. Upon the Suns' elimination from the 2007 NBA Playoffs, he became a regular commentator for ESPN giving regular insider perspective on games from both a player's and analyst's perspective.

Player profile

As a player, the smooth and versatile Rose is known as a gifted scorer from the perimeter or the post, capable of putting up 20 points on most nights. Jalen has been used throughout his career at three different positions. He began his career as a point guard for the Denver Nuggets and became a shooting guard/small forward for the Indiana Pacers. He then returned to the point guard position briefly with the Toronto Rapters. However, during his career he was most effective as a small forward or swingman. Jalen is also a good passer, especially for his height, and Indiana often employed him as a point forward. Not known for his defense, Rose's best moment defensively came during the 1997-1998 season, when Rose emerged as a defensive stopper on Michael Jordan in the Eastern Conference Finals, though the Bulls pulled out the series in seven games. Rose has sometimes been regarded as a team leader, particularly under head coach Larry Bird, though he reportedly was a disruptive force in the Pacers' locker room during his feud with then-coach Isiah Thomas after Thomas cut former Fab Five teammate Jimmy King on the final day of cuts before the 2000-2001 season.

While he showed a willingness in Toronto to work harder than ever (particularly on defense), Rose also frequently clashed with Raptors coach Sam Mitchell, who benched a struggling Jalen early in the 2005-06 season in favor of rookie Joey Graham. This coincided with Raptors' abysmal 1-15 record in the month of December 2005.

In the following months, Rose at least raised his play to a more acceptable level. He increased his Player Efficiency Rating more than three whole points (to 13.7) while averaging 12.1 points, 2.5 assists, and 2.8 rebounds per game. However, he only shot 40.4% from the field and 27% from three-point range (including a 51.4 true shooting percentage) through 46 games.

Rose will be most remembered for his leadership at Michigan and in pioneering many of the cultural trends set by the Fab Five. Rose will also be remembered for his big years with the Indiana Pacers, for whom he is often credited as being the main reason they were finally able to get over the "hump" and make it to the NBA Finals in 2000, just two wins short of an NBA Championship.

Miscellaneous

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• Rose can be seen at a high school All-American camp in the documentary film, Hoop Dreams.
• Rose is now focusing his attention on making his "Jalen Rose Messenger Toolbar" a success. He hopes that his entry into the internet world will rival the success of Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, thanks to this innovation ^{[citation needed]}.
• Rose has also been a court side reporter for TNT during the playoffs.
• Rose is a supporter of his alma mater and was seen rooting for Michigan's basketball team during the 2006 NIT Final Four with fellow ex-Wolverine, Maurice Taylor.
• Rose is known for contributions to inner city youth by helping to build reading centers.
• Rose gave Dikembe Mutombo a check for $100,000 to help with the construction of an operating room for the hospital he built in the Congo. [1]
• Rose's biological father Jimmy Walker was a former #1 overall pick who started in the backcourt alongside Jerry West in an All Star game at one point in his career. Walker passed away in July 2007 of lung cancer. Rose never met his father.
• Jalen is left-handed.

References

External links

• Official Jalen Rose player profile at NBA.com
• ESPN.com
• Jalen Rose at basketball-reference.com
• Jalen Rose at basketballreference.com
• Official Website
• SI.com
• Yahoo Sports
• University of Michigan Basketball Statistical Archive
• YouTube page

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